A beginners guide to spoken word
It's no secret that I am already a lover of poetry. Now I don't go around reading great stacks of it. I prefer instead to read collections and be surprised by what I find and which words speak to me. At one point in college I had some of my favourite poems typed and stuck to my walls. If I remember correctly everyone thought it was a bit weird but I loved being able to read them again and again and tried to share them with friends in the hope that they would see as I do. In some ways I can't help that poetry has the ability to express things in a way that ordinary words cannot. I even wrote poetry for a few years but it would take a lot to get me to share my childlike efforts now that I have the benefit of hindsight. Instead I cringe at my own teenage melodrama and while my later efforts showed more structure, they were dark and gloomy and far too revealing. That side of me has been shelved in the hope that I will one day unlock some superb writing talents and now I settle for admiring the abilities of others to put feelings into poetry.
Spoken word is a different beast all together than the sort of poetry I am accustomed to reading and before tonight I never actually experienced it live, I may have seen some videos on youtube but that's as close as I went. But I went to Phil Grimes pub tonight excited about what I was about to listen to, poetry out loud. First on stage was Lewis Kenny, looking to be in his early twenties in a hoodie and jeans and the thickest Dublin accent I have ever heard, he seemed to be fairly unassuming until he began his poetry and all of these thoughts and feelings spilled out into the room. There was such power behind the words and a rhythm and a flow to it. It made me feel all of the things in a way a mere story never could and I found I utterly warmed to his style of poetry while feeling a wave of jealousy at the fact that he could express himself so eloquently. There was a beauty to it and I may not have agreed with all the ideas shared but I loved the way the stories were told.
He was followed by Alvy Carragher. I will admit the Lewis's style was my favourite of the three but that doesn't take from the fact that Alvy had something unique to offer us. The way she so openly expressed herself was lovely and touching and I felt my eyes water more than once. She had hilarious poem entitled Hobbit which was incredibly clever, about some of the more unsuitable men that have made advances on her and I laughed when she mentioned how once it had been misunderstood and she was approached by a Lord of The Rings fan after the show. She ended her piece with a very brave and revealing piece that struck a chord for me and I felt she captured it brilliantly.
Then we had Colm Keegan, I gather he is the best known of the three but I don't know a whole lot about this type of poetry so I was not surprised to not be familiar with it. He had a wonderful way with words and an excellent storytelling manner. I laughed a lot but also felt there was a pureness in his poetry.
I will say that it was definitely the best €5 I have ever spent. I left feeling excited about this new medium, thirsty for more but also wishing that I too could express myself this way. Then again I have often wished was more in the way of creative writing down in the South East and yet if it is happening, I haven't heard about it. So I guess my own voice will have to stay quiet a little longer and I will just settle for being a really enthusiastic spectator
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